Date Announced for Annual Braggin' Rights Basketball Game
The date and venue for the 44th annual Braggin' Right basketball game next season between the Missouri Tigers and Illinois Fighting Illini is officially set, per CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein.
"Sources: Next season's game between Illinois and Missouri will be on Sunday, December 22nd at Enterprise Center in St. Louis," Rothstein wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Wednesday.
The non-conference rivalry started in St. Louis in 1980, and besides 2020 (COVID-19 restrictions), it's been played there ever since. Illinois holds a 27-16 advantage in the McBride Homes Braggin' Rights game. The two schools met several times before the rivalry ensued into a neutral-site matchup, as Illinois leads the all-time series 34-20 with the first-ever matchup occurring on Dec. 20, 1932.
Illinois won last season's matchup 97-73. Just a few hours before that game, the schools agreed to a series extension through 2029. It was also agreed that the city of St. Louis, Mo. would continue to host the Braggin' Rights game throughout that span as well.
"The Braggin' Rights Game is a staple on Mizzou's calendar every season and a historic rivalry that matters to our fans," said then-Missouri director of athletics Desiree Reed-Francois in the series extension press release. "We embrace our opportunities to hold events in St. Louis. That's why it's important to extend the series with Illinois at Enterprise Center so our fans can continue to enjoy one of the most electric atmospheres in all of college basketball."
"The St. Louis region has produced outstanding Illini student-athletes for many years, and with thousands of alumni living in the Gateway City, we're pleased to extend Braggin' Rights and continue the holiday hoops tradition," Illinois Director of Athletics Josh Whitman said in the same release. "The competitive rivalry we enjoy with Missouri has grown into one of the top annual games on the college basketball calendar, and we're pleased to partner with our friends at Enterprise Center and keep this series in St. Louis through 2029."
The Missouri men's basketball team is aiming for a significantly better season in 2024-25, as they finished this past one with an 8-24 record, including a winless 0-18 stretch against SEC opponents. The Tigers were also first-round exits in the SEC Tournament against Georgia.
Illinois, on the other hand, finished with a 29-9 regular season record and was later crowned the Big Ten Tournament champions. The Fighting Illini's postseason concluded with a loss to eventual National Champion UConn in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament. They landed at the No. 6 spot in the final AP Poll.
Nevertheless, Mizzou's 2024 recruiting class is ranked far higher than Illinois'. When the Tigers announced the 2024-25 SEC game sites on May 13, it also included that they owned the No. 5 freshman class in the nation, while adding the current No. 12 transfer class under third-year head coach Dennis Gates.
HUNTER DE SIVER
Hunter De Siver is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, earning a degree in sports media. During his time in Tuscaloosa, Hunter distributed articles covering Alabama football, basketball, and baseball for WVUA 23 TV and discussed these topics on Tide 100.9 FM. Hunter also generated articles highlighting Crimson Tide products in the NFL and NBA for BamaCentral. Since graduation, he's been writing a plethora of NFL and NBA stories for FanNation.